The Corsair in the French Navy.
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The F4U-7, was the first brand-new straight-out-of-the-factory airplane to
be delivered to the French Navy since 1940. It was essentially an AU-1 airframe
with the high-altitude R-2800-18W engine of the F4U-4 (literally, since the engine was no longer in production, those used for the F4U-7 were taken off F4U-4s).
The 96 that were built between June 1952 and Christmas Eve 1952 - when the Corsair production line finally closed down - would serve the Aeronavale in three different conflicts between 1952 and 1964.
The French began taking delivery of their new Corsair at NAS Oceana in October
1952. It would initially equip 14 Flotille and 15 Flotille, achieving initial
operational capability in early 1954.
The first French combat use of Corsairs was in the spring of 1954, in the doomed
effort to save Dien Bien Phu. 14 Flotille, at the time stationed in Karouba,
Tunisia, was moved sans aircraft to Da Nang, where the carrier U.S.S. "Saipan"
delivered 25 Korean-veteran AU-1s direct from Marine Air Group 12 in Japan.
The Corsairs flew valiantly, along with SB2C-5 Helldivers of 3rd Flotille, losing six
aircraft and two pilots; Dien Bien Phu surrendered on May 7, 1954. It was
effectively the end of the French phase of the Indochina War. Following the
cease-fire on July 21, 1954, the AU-1s were returned to the U.S. (They would be
refurbished and sold to the French for service in Algeria a few years later.)
14 Flotille's F4U-7s were ferried out to Da Nang aboard the light carrier "Bois de
Belleau," and the unit flew them for the rest of the year during the French
disengagement from Indochina, returning to Algeria in the spring of 1955. By this
time, 12, 15, and 17 Flotilles were engaged in the Algerian War of
Independence, flying from Oran, Telergma, Bizerte, and off the British-built
carrier "Arromanches" during 1955-56. Losses were light during this period.
The third conflict in which French Corsair were involved was of short
duration. After the nationalization of the Suez Canal by the Egyptian
government on July 26, 1956, England and France introduced the
"Musketeer" operation, devised to re-gain control of the Canal three months
later. The operation worked under the pretext of separating the Israelis and
the Egyptians, the Israelis having passed to the offensive following one of the
many incidents which opposed these two nations in a state of permanent war.
Five aircraft carriers were sent to the Eastern Mediterranean, including
Arromanches and Fayette which embarked the thirty-six Corsair of the 14F
and the 15F.
The combined air and sea force carried out its first mission on November 1,
1956. The F4U-7 - with the signature yellow and black tapes typical of the
operation - patrolled along the Egyptian coasts in search of targets. The
Egyptian air opposition was practically non-existent due to the majority of
their planes having been destroyed on the ground in the first thirty-six hours
of the operation.
The campaign lasted a short time - the United Nations imposed a cease-fire
on November 7.
During this short interval, French Corsair accounted for 25 per 100 of the
Franco-British aviation of assault embarked. Two F4U-7 were lost. One was
crashed and the other, piloted by the second officer of the 14F, was shot
down by anti-aircraft artillery over Cairo.
This operation of great style ended in a political fiasco for the British as well
as for the French, but the Naval Aviation had not failed in its task - Corsair
had carried out on average four outs per day during the week of operations.
Installation:
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-Installation in CFS2:
Unzip " F4U-7 French" into a temporary file and move the "F4U-7 French" folder into the main CFS2\Aircraft directory. Copy the cfs2GPS.gau into your Gauges folder.You don't need the FS 2002 install file.
-Installation in FS2002:
Unzip " F4U-7 French" into a temporary file and move the "F4U-7 French" folder into the main FS2002\Aircraft directory.
From the FS2002 install file :
Replace the aircraft.cfg and the F4U-7.air (in the F4U-7 French FS2002\Aircraft directory) . Replace the panel.cfg (in the panel folder). Let them overwrite the original ones. Let the "the hel_cors_blur.bmp" from the FS2002 install file overwrite the original "hel_cors_blur.bmp" in the texture folder.
For FS 2002 you needn't copy the CDP and Dp files.
The F4U-7 French model:
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- Many thanks to Guy HULIN, who kindly allowed me to adapt his magnificent Corsair to CFS2/FS2002 .
- Panel.bmp, modified dashboard from Sergey " Araks " Golovachev adapted to standard gauges for CFS2/FS2002 by A.F.Scrub.
- Modified Mdl, Textures, Air and Dp file by A F Scrub.
- Sounds: Aliased to F4U1A_CORSAIR.
DISCLAIMER
.....................
There is no warranty, guarantee or liability of any kind, and the authors of the contents of this archive are not liable for any problems on software or hardware you may encounter while using this software. You use this software at your own risk.
COPYRIGHT
....................
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It must be respected in any case. All rights reserved.
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